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WENDY TRUSLER
STILL ICE
APRIL 16 - MAY 14, 2015
OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 6 - 10 pm
Evans Contemporary is pleased to present Still Ice, an exhibition of archived photographs by Peterborough artist Wendy Trusler.
Throughout the austral summer of 1996, Trusler worked as a cook at Bellingshausen, a Russian research station in Antarctica for an environmental project organized in collaboration with the Russian Antarctic Expedition. This experience laid the foundation for much of her art-making over the past twenty years and has been the impetus for her Antarctic Chronicles (1998), Bread Breaking Boundaries (2000) and the ongoing, Voices at Hand. Soon to be re-released with HarperCollins, The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning, (Vauve Press, 2013), a co-creation with expedition leader, Carol Devine, distills many of the ideas Trusler explored in her earlier works and contains a small sampling of photographs she shot on King George Island.
Nearly twenty years later, Still Ice is the first exhibition of photographs from that summer—an account of both the everyday and the extraordinary in small still life moments, portraits and landscapes. Until recently, most of these images languished on contact sheets, now worn and marked with hints of projects in the making. Re-photographed from the original sheets, the images in this exhibition carry the mood and patina from years of storage, and handling. They speak of Trusler's Antarctic experience at the end of the century, however, are unsure of which century they belong to - 1996 or 1896? Trusler's photos recall Frank Hurley's images of the Shackleton expedition, yet also hint at the worn and abused surfaces of Mike and Doug Starn's early work. They are both a personal archive and contemporary report of a most unique continent devoted to peace an science.
ANTARCTIC BOOK OF COOKING AND CLEANING
Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning Website: http://www.theantarcticbookofcookingandcleaning.com
Harper Collins Website: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062395030/the-antarctic-book-of-cooking-and-cleaning
WENDY TRUSLER
Wendy Trusler is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and writer who creates site-responsive installations that incorporate drawing, painting, text, sculpture, performance, and film.
Much of her work examines the roles that symbol and language play in coding memory, and the ways in which recollections are organized into what we understand as history. Shaped by the experience of having lived in isolation in wild places, ideas around ecology, continuity and regeneration play out in her material choices, and the physicality of her work as well as how it brings people together.
Recent projects include The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning (2015 & 2013); Collective Vision, an on-going curatorial project in the Mental Health Services Department of a the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Voices at Hand, an archival-oriented performance piece that has been mounted in nine venues across Ontario and reached audiences in 26 countries.
She makes her home in Peterborough, Canada.
EVANS CONTEMPORARY
Evans Contemporary is dedicated to the presentation of creative projects by national and international contemporary artists. Located in Peterborough, Ontario, and situated on the ground floor of a 1907 Edwardian house, the gallery's aim is to launch contemporary exhibitions in an unique and intimate setting, and allow artists to present new works and projects that transcend the trends of the commercial visual art market.
Evans Contemporary falls just outside of the entrenched public and private gallery sectors. It is privately owned and operated, and runs as a negative profit exhibition space. Through its hard working volunteers, generous supporters and patrons, it serves to provide exceptional, contemporary exhibitions to a region underserviced by visual culture. The gallery serves as a rallying point for artists, cultural workers and art lovers of the Kawartha Lakes region. Operating as an amalgamation of artist-run centre, museum, institute, and private foundation , Evans Contemporary fills a void in the cultural landscape of the region, plays an important role as a leader in the cultural fabric of Peterborough and the Kawartha region and stands as a signifying site of local culture.
Evans Contemporary launches exhibitions every four to six weeks and offers a unique space for special projects and new endeavours for each exhibiting artist. The gallery is housed in a two and a half story Edwardian style, red brick house in the 'Avenues' of the Old West End of Peterborough, Ontario. and was built in 1907. The building was originally owned by Wallace Evans, a lather, who would have installed the strips of wood used in the lath and plaster wall construction in the house.
EVANS CONTEMPORARY
302 PEARL AVE.
PETERBOROUGH, ON
K9H 5G5
HOURS: WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY 5:30PM - 8PM OR BY APPOINTMENT
PAOLO FORTIN - GALLERY COORDINATOR
LAUREN TREGENZA - RESEARCH FELLOW
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